Listed as one of 12 'Best places you’ve never heard of Worldwide' by CNN, Namje has worked hard to achieve every sense of tranquility and arrange accommodations for their guests who visit the place to find peace and serenity. People from across the world and even locals from the nearby village: Dharan, where many Limbus, Rais and Magars live, come to be closer to their culture and find a sense of belonging with a bigger community. Also known as "lahurey basti", Namje hosts an interesting place “Aatma Ghar” where, it is said, resides the souls of 13 magars.

In this typical Magar village, you can hike up to the ridge overlooking the village and for the daredevils, there are option to go paragliding or rafting. In the evening, you can join with the local villagers in their traditional dances. You can climb up the top of the Thumki Hill to see the Magar ‘Place of Spirit’, where the villagers worship their ancestors and you can admire a good sunset from this hill.

IMPACT

Since the start of Namje Community Homestay, they villagers welcomed several guests for longer stays who helped the community by investing in a water pump and building the place of spirit for the villagers to commemorate their ancestors. The community invested in building a Community Hall to give seminars and training to the villagers.

ABOUT THE HOMESTAY

Another attracting feature of Namje is it’s “aatma basne ghar” or (place of spirit). Those who visit to witness the spirit and either ask for repentance or blessings, or simply curious to find some interesting story from their adventure to reminisce about, are welcome to their 13 available homestays where you can have dal bhaat tarkari (lentils, rice and vegetable curry), local chicken and breakfast of kodo (millet) with local tea, fresh eggs and milk all healthy and made with a spin of their own. The bathrooms and toilets are all detached from the main house and have squat toilets.

THINGS TO DO

Visit Magar ‘Place of Spirit’

You can climb up the top of the Thumki Hill in Namje to see the Magar ‘Place of Spirit’, where the villagers, who still practice animism, worship their ancestors and you can admire a good sunset from this hill.

Participate in the Cultural Programme

The people of Namje organize beautiful cultural programs with dance and music that you must not miss. The villagers of all ages proudly showcase their culture here with costumes that have significance and distinct.

Visit Dharan (incl. Budhasubba Temple)

With the local bus from Namje to Bhedetar and from Bhedatar to Dharan you can visit the small but lively city Dharan. With 10 minutes by tuk tuk or 30 minutes’ walk, you can see the Budhasubba Temple, which is an interesting spiritual place where the Hindu people make offerings to their Gods. If you are interested in buying jewelry, Dharan is the best place to go.

Namaste Falls

With a bus from Namje via Bhedetar to Namaste Jharna, you can find the Namaste Falls. At the entrance of the falls you can take a quick lunch break and buy bottled water to bring up, because there aren’t any shops at the waterfalls. Depending on the season you can see one or more big waterfalls, but there is always at least one to see. You’re allowed to paddle in the water and make amazing photos.

Rani Lake, Rajarani

From Namje you can go by bus via Bhedetar to reach Rajarani. The Rani Lake is not only popular for just observing the lake and its nature surrounding it, but also to watch various kinds of birds.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Climate and weather

The climate in the Terai, the south of Nepal, the summer temperatures can exceed till 37 °C and even higher in some areas. Winter temperatures range from 7 °C to 23 °C, but during the nights the temperature drops tremendously with numbers below zero. The official winter starts in December and ends in February, altought it already is starting to get cold in the middle of October. Good to know it that on average the temperature drops 1 degree every 100 meters you gain in altitude.